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You'll love wearing this solar-powered Seiko Women's Essentials Bracelet Watch due to its classic design and lightweight feel. A polished stainless steel case houses a blue dial with Roman numerals and a convenient calendar window.
Playgro's Pull Along Elephant is ready to tag along with your little one on new adventures. Shapes inside the elephant spin when the elephant is pulled along. Sort the shapes, stack the rings and touch the elephant's crinkle ears.
The Seiko Coutura Men's Radio Sync Solar Chronograph Watch receives radio signals automatically to precisely adjust the time and calendar. Other impressive features include 24-hour indicator, world time and a 6-month power reserve.
The Kela Varda Tumbler is designed to look as though it was crafted of excavated marble, and carved into a practical, yet stylish, bathroom accessory. Mimicking the natural grain of marble, this tumbler is a spa-worthy addition to your bathroom.
The Kai Electric Cube Knife Sharpener helps restore Asian-style kitchen knives to their orginal 16-degree angle sharpness in just minutes. Compact, 3-stage design saves counter space and easily sharpens eastern-style knives with razor-like results.
Vivi Flatware from Fortessa is the perfect combination of style and substance. Crafted in 18/10 stainless steel, the angled box pattern of this chic design complements the modern table as beautifully as a more traditional setting.
The Robely Sotto Vanity Tray complements your washroom counter with a functional and elegant touch. Designed with sleek and durable metal, this 2-tier bath necessity easily holds your essentials in a sophisticated fashion.
The Seiko Women's Contemporary Bracelet Watch from the Diamond Collection completes your look with a polished element that will always be in style. Accenting the iridescent Mother of Pearl dial are 12 diamond markers.
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Showing: 456121 to 456150 of 541816 products.


"to be or not to be? that is the question" " it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all"
The Costa de Sol has long been a popular holiday resort but it has changed and moved with the times and now rates as one of the best and most reliable holiday destinations in Europe.
Take your TEFL Certificate in Spain and open up a whole new life for yourself living and working abroad as a foreign language teacher.
The Via Verdes, or Greenways, are great places to go Cycling in Spain.
Asparagus is a very healthy part of the Mediterranean Diet which scientists are now hailing as the healthiest diet in the world. Try these 3 different ways to cook this delightful vegetable.
As we live longer, healthier lives planning for a financially secure retirement becomes increasingly important.
Improve Your Health with Globe Artichokes, Try these Lovely Recipes.
The standard of health care in Spain is very high, find out how ex-pats and holiday makers alike can benefit from it.


text:
H.E.S.S.
High Energy Stereoscopic System
About H.E.S.S.
A Point-Like Gamma-Ray Source in Monoceros
Previous | Index | Next
Left: the Monoceros supernova remnant (also known as G205.5+0.5) viewed in the infrared (60 mum IRAS, using Skyview), with the Rosette Nebula in the bottom right region. The Monoceros Loop spans almost 4 degrees in the sky. Right: the Rosette Nebula in the visible (DSS image. © CalTech/Palomar). The Rosette Nebula is a star-forming gas cloud with a cluster of bright young stars at the center; the stellar winds from these stars have blown a hole at the center of the nebula. The Rosette Nebula is more than 50 light-years across.
Previous H.E.S.S. results on the supernova remnants RX J1713.7-3946 and RX J0852.0-4622 have clearly demonstrated that supernova shock fronts are capable of accelerating particles to very high energies. Gamma rays are produced when the primary accelerated nuclei collide with ambient gas, and the rate of gamma rays grows with the amount or density of target gas. For this reason, supernova remnants expanding into and colliding with molecular clouds are expected to be copious sources of gamma rays. The Monoceros supernova remnant (G205.5+0.5), at a distance of about 5000 light years, is believed to interact with the Rosette Nebula - a young stellar cluster / molecular cloud complex - and is therefore an obvious target for very high-energy gamma ray observations. Earlier HEGRA observations of the region, however, did not expose any gamma-ray sources (Aharonian et al. 2004).
The Monoceros/Rosette Nebula region was target of H.E.S.S. observations between 2004 and 2006, as part of the scan of the Galactic plane. In these data, a gamma-ray source just north of the Rosette Nebula is visible, with a statistical significance of 7 standard deviations (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2). The object is just off the top edge of the image of the Rosette Nebula shown above and therefore probably not directly related to the nebula. What makes this source - termed HESS J0632+057 - rather special that unlike virtually all other Galactic sources it appears pointlike, with an upper limit on its rms size of 2' (Fig. 3). The flux of the source is about 3% of the Crab Nebula flux and the spectrum is consistent with a power law with a photon index around 2.5, like many other Galactic objects.
What is this source? If related to particles accelerated in the Monoceros supernova remnant, a compact high-density gas cloud would be required to create a point-like gamma-ray source. NANTEN CO observations of the region (Fig. 2), however, show no indications for a molecular cloud coincident with the gamma-ray source. A very faint ROSAT X-ray source, 1RXS J063258.3+054857, is within errors coincident with the gamma-ray source (Fig. 1), but has an X-ray energy flux which is small compared to the gamma-ray energy flux. A common electron origin would require either very low magnetic fields, suppressing X-ray emission, or strong X-ray absorption, or a very special electron energy spectrum emphasizing the energy range responsible for Inverse-Compton up-scattering. A potential counterpart is also a massive Be-type star, HD 259440 (or MWC 148); with strong stellar winds and a high mass-loss rate such stars are good candidates for particle acceleration in shocks in the wind, a mechanism already discussed in the context of the source HESS J1023-575.
H.E.S.S. collaboration, F. Aharonian et al., in preparation
Fig. 1: Smoothed gamma-ray significance map of the region of the new source HESS J0632+057. The source location and its errors are shown by the black point. The dashed circle indicates the upper limit on the source size. The green triangle gives the location of the X-ray source 1RXS J063258.3+054857, the red square the location of the Be star. The nominal Green's Catalogue position/size of the Monoceros SNR is shown as an (incomplete) dashed circle.
Fig. 2: The Monoceros SNR / Rosette Nebula region. The grey-scale shows the distribution of molecular gas, from the NANTEN galactic plane survey (Y. Moriguchi, Y. Fukui, priv comm.). Yellow contours show 4 and 6-sigma levels for the statistical significance of the H.E.S.S. gamma-ray source. Radio observations at 8.35 GHz from Langston et al. (2000) are overlayed as red contours and illustrate the extent of the Rosette Nebula. The nominal Green's Catalogue position/size of the Monoceros SNR is shown as an (incomplete) dashed circle. The green dotted line indicates the location uncertainty of the EGRET gamma-ray source 3EG0634+0521.
Fig. 3: Distribution of gamma-ray events as a function of angular distance from the source center of HESS J0632+057 (points), compared to the expectation for a point-like source (smooth curve). There is no evidence for intrinsic extension of the source within the H.E.S.S. data.
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Xiaomi's Mi Band has been a successful fitness tracker lineup from the company and is one of the best-selling wearable devices globally. The most recent iteration in the series — Mi Band 3, has also been widely successful.
Now, the company is focused on launching its successor — Mi Band 4. Recently, David Cui, CFO at Huami, a sub-brand of Huawei that makes wearable devices, confirmed that the successor of the Mi Band 3 will be launched this year.
While he denied imminent launch of the Mi Band 3 successor, the upcoming fitness tracker has now been certified by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). Two models of the fitness band have been certified — XMSH08HM and XMSH07HM. While one will be the Mi Band 4, the other one will be the Mi Band 4 NFC.
The certification process confirms that the upcoming fitness tracker from Xiaomi will come with support for Bluetooth 5.0 Low Energy standard. To remind you, the current Mi Band 3 supports Bluetooth 4.2 LE, so the upcoming Band will be a decent upgrade.
Currently, nothing more is known about this fitness tracker, so we'll have to wait for some time before details about the wearable device start emerging online. However, we can bet that it will come with several features and improvements, as has been the case with all the next-gen fitness trackers launched by the company so far.
We also expect the device to be priced competitively — one of the major factors behind the success of the Mi Band series. The Mi Band 3 is currently available for purchase in India for Rs. 1,999.


A threat of unionized municipal staff going on strike continues to loom over the Town of Ponoka.
Last week, town workers represented by the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees voted in favour of a strike and can serve 72 hours' notice to walk off the job.
AUPE Vice-President Karen Weiers said they thought the two sides had a deal reached with the help of a third-party mediator.
"At the table, we did shake hands with what was a reasonable agreement with town administration, which was there to negotiate on behalf of the employer. That agreement was actually struck down by the Mayor and council," Weiers said.
While Weiers has called that "disrespectful," Mayor Rick Bonnett maintains the town has been negotiating in good faith.
"Administration doesn't have the power or the authority to decide on that. They could only bring it back to council and ask. No different than a union going back and asking its members," Bonnett said.
Both sides have said they were willing to return to the bargaining table however, neither named a date for a next meeting.
The AUPE represents 66 town workers across several departments, including public works, to recreation and utilities.
A statement from the municipality said it does have a plan to ensure that essential services are still provided. The Mayor said part of that will include contracting out operations for the duration of any strike.


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Before 2003, Dino was an elementary and preschool music and drama teacher by day and a folk-rock and reggae musician by night. Now in his tenth year as a family entertainer, his live shows and studio recordings reflect his years olf experience as both an educator and a performer; Dino is a master at tricking kids into learning.
We learn best when we are engaged and we are engaged best when the medium is interactive. Whether it's a counting song, fill-in-the-blank lyric writing or a sing-a-long, Dino's stories and music tap into our innate desire to comprehend, communicate and connect.


Welcome to the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy. As the 4th oldest College of Pharmacy in a state-supported university, we have been educating pharmacists to meet the ever increasingly complex drug therapy needs of Iowans since 1885. While our program has changed considerably over the past 115 years and we have developed nationally and internationally recognized basic and applied research programs in Pharmaceutics, Medicinal and Natural Products Chemistry, Administrative and Clinical Sciences as well as Pharmacy Practice, we remain steadfastly committed to excellence and public service in the years ahead. Today our Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) program is focused on preparing students to become part of a health care team prepared to deliver high quality pharmaceutical care and respond to rapid changes in science and technology in all settings. Our graduates face an exciting and rewarding future with opportunities in a wide variety of challenging settings including community and hospital pharmacy, federal and state government, consultant pharmacy and managed care practice, the pharmaceutical industry and careers in research. As we enter a new century our curriculum reflects the explosion of knowledge in the biomedical and clinical sciences as well as the rapid advances in technology and health care practice. In addition to technical excellence, increased emphasis is being placed on the ability to solve problems and commitment to life-long learning. Our faculty are prepared to challenge and work with our students to prepare them for the exciting challenges ahead in health care. We have also recently instituted elective options within the curriculum to allow students to pursue specialized areas of interest in business, health care and research. In addition, we anticipate a significant number of our students seeking to continue their studies through postgraduate programs here at Iowa or elsewhere.


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text:
proj97
Issue: Jan 1997
Geron Corporation Update
A review of the research program of the first anti-aging research company to go public.
By John Hammell, Political Coordinator, Life Extension Foundation
As part of our PROJECT 2020 program to achieve total control over human aging by the year 2020, The Life Extension Foundation has contributed $136,000.00 to the Geron Corporation. Geron was the first company devoted substantially to age-related genetic research.
We've published several articles about Geron's research in Life Extension Magazine based upon our interpretation of the scientific literature and discussions with one of Geron's scientists. The following report, however, is based upon the company's own description of its research and proprietary technologies.
Geron is a biopharmaceutical company exclusively focused on discovering and developing therapeutic and diagnostic products based upon common biological mechanisms underlying cancer and other age-related diseases. As the pioneer in researching these mechanisms, the Company focuses on telomeres, which are structures at the ends of chromosomes that the Company has shown act as a molecular "clock" of cellular aging, and telomerase, an enzyme which appears to stop the "clock" and lead to cellular immortality.
Cellular Aging and Cellular Immortalization
Cells are the building blocks for all tissues in the human body. Cell division plays an important role in the normal growth, maintenance and repair of human tissue. However, cell division is a limited process in that cells generally divide only 60 to 100 times in the course of their normal lifespans. Once cells reach the end of their replicative capacity, they senesce. Cellular aging or senescence, although influenced by environmental factors, is a genetically determined process.
Geron and its collaborators have demonstrated that telomeres, the repeated sequence of DNA at the ends of each chromosome, are key genetic elements in this process. Telomeres are necessary to protect chromosomes from degradation and fusion. Each time a normal cell divides, however, telomeres shorten because cells are unable to replicate fully these repeated DNA sequences. Thus, Geron believes that telomeres serve as a molecular "clock" governing normal cell replication and lifespan. Geron has demonstrated that once telomeres reach a certain short length, cell division is halted, which is known as cell senescence. Although senescent cells have stopped dividing, these cells are still metabolically active and demonstrate an altered pattern of gene expression. Specifically, in senescent cells, some genes expressed by young and healthy cells are turned off and other genes are turned on, creating an imbalance of proteins and other cell products that has a direct and potentially destructive effect on the surrounding tissue. Geron believes that this cellular dysfunction, which occurs in numerous tissues throughout the body, causes or contributes to age-related diseases and conditions. The converse of cell senescence occurs in cancer cells. Normal cells have the potential to become cancerous if random mutations activate various oncogenes and deactivate tumor suppressor genes. With each mutation, pre-cancerous cells become increasingly aberrant and uncontrolled, and may begin to generate a tumor mass. The Company believes, however, that most cells which undergo such changes are eliminated when telomere shortening leads to either cell senescence or chromosomal instability and cell death. Geron and its collaborators' research indicates that for most cancerous tumors to attain life threatening size, or for cancer to metastasize throughout the body, cancer cells must become immortal, through activation of telomerase.
What Is Telomerase?
Telomerase is a complex germ line enzyme, composed of RNA and protein components, that maintains telomere length by replacing the DNA that is lost each time a cell divides. The result is that telomeres do not shorten and cell death is averted. (Fig. 1) Geron's research has shown that telomerase is abnormally reactivated in all of the major cancer types and that, conversely, it is not present in most normal cell types. Telomerase enables cancer cells to maintain telomere length, providing them with indefinite replicative capacity or cellular immortality.
Geron's Research Programs
Geron is applying its proprietary scientific platform to discover and develop novel therapeutics and diagnostics for cancer and other age-related diseases and conditions. In support of its programs, the Company employs advanced drug discovery technologies including proprietary assays, high-throughput screening, combinatorial chemistry, proprietary differential gene expression techniques, protein purification and gene sequencing.
Telomerase Inhibition and Detection
Geron seeks to develop a small molecule telomerase inhibitor, which, by blocking the activity of telomerase, will allow cancer cell telomeres to resume shortening, ultimately leading to cancer cell death. In addition, the Company seeks to develop telomerase as a marker for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, monitoring and screening.
Telomerase is not present in most normal cells and as a result these cells age through telomere shortening. In contrast, telomerase is abnormally active in cancer cells causing telomere length to be maintained, which in turn appears to confer immortality to cancer cells in malignant tumors.
Research has shown that telomerase is present in all of the over 20 different cancer types that Geron and its collaborators have studied, including the ten most prevalent cancers of prostate, breast, lung, colon, bladder, uterus and ovary, along with lymphomas, melanomas and oral cancers. In all of these cancers, the majority of tumor samples contain telomerase. Because telomerase is present in all cancer types evaluated and is not biologically active in most normal cells, telomerase appears to be a universal and highly specific marker of cancer. These characteristics combine to make telomerase an attractive target for inhibition to treat cancer, and for detection to diagnose cancer.
Geron's research has demonstrated that a telomerase inhibitor blocks cancer cells from using telomerase to maintain telomere length. As a result, the telomeres in the cancer cells resume shortening as the cells continue to divide, reaching a certain short length, at which point the cancer cells die. Specifically, Geron scientists have blocked human telomerase in tumor cell lines in vitro using both a small molecule compound and an antisense compound to the human telomerase RNA component.
In both experiments, blocking telomerase led to telomere shortening and cancer cell death. Based on these results, Geron is aggressively pursing the identification of a number of telomerase inhibitors as potential lead compounds for preclinical and clinical development. While it has identified several strategies for inhibiting telomerase activity. Geron is primarily focused on developing a small molecule inhibitor. The Company believes the small molecule approach will produce a development candidate with a more favorable commercial profile-oral bioavailability, compound stability and low manufacturing cost. With one of its collaborators, the Company has initiated studies of these small molecule compounds in animal models of human tumor growth.
To advance this program, Geron has established proprietary screening technology, a structurally automated high throughput screening effort for the identification of telomerase inhibitors using proprietary assays based on human telomerase. Geron has used this proprietary screening capability to screen over 80,000 diverse small molecule candidates that Geron has either acquired or created through its internal combinatorial chemistry capabilities.
As a result of its screening efforts, Geron has identified several classes of compounds that demonstrate telomerase inhibition and is actively pursing structure/activity relationship studies to develop lead compounds. Geron believes that these screens provide a strong competitive advantage in view of the extreme difficulty and specialized skills required for their development and use. The United States Patent and Trademark Office has recently allowed a patent application on one of Geron's telomerase inhibitor screens.
Geron believes that blocking telomerase activity will cause the affected cancer cells to resume telomere shortening through cell division and thus lose their immortality. When telomeres reach a certain short length, the cells will die. Telomerase inhibition is therefore expected to have delayed efficacy as cancer cell telomeres resume normal shortening. Although Geron envisions that a telomerase inhibitor could be effective as a stand-alone treatment in certain cases, it is expected that in most cases a telomerase inhibitor will be used in conjunction with traditional anti-cancer therapies.
Geron has established a strategic alliance with Kyowa Hakko, a leading oncology company in Japan, for the development and commercialization in certain Asian countries of a telomerase inhibitor for the treatment of cancer. The Company has also established research collaborations for the study of telomerase inhibition with the National Cancer Institute and the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, and for the study of telomerase biology with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
The Company believes that telomerase is a universal and highly specific marker of cancer and, therefore, the detection and quantification of telomerase may have significant clinical utility for cancer diagnosis. While most cancer diagnostics apply to a single or limited number of cancer types, telomerase-based diagnostics could potentially address a broad range of cancer types. The Company also believes that the availability of telomerase-based diagnostics for cancer will enhance the commercial opportunity for a telomerase inhibitor by increasing the understanding of clinicians of the biological mechanisms underlying telomerase activity.
The Company has developed several proprietary assays for the detection of telomerase based on its activity or components. The first generation assay is the Telomeric Repeat Amplification Protocol ("TRAP") assay which detects telomerase activity in malignant tumor tissue. The second generation assay detects the RNA component of human telomerase, which was first cloned by Geron scientists. This RNA technology enables the Company to use proprietary in situ hybridization and other detection methods to detect the presence of telomerase. The Company is the exclusive licensee of an issued United States patent which it believes covers cancer diagnostic applications of its TRAP technology, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has allowed one of Geron's patent applications relating to the RNA component of telomerase.
Geron is conducting clinical evaluations to assess the full potential of its telomerase detection technology. Preliminary data from a number of studies indicate telomerase levels correlate with clinical outcome in cancer patients. In the event evaluations of a larger number of patients continue to present favorable results, the Company intends to proceed to full scale development of its telomerase detection technology as a novel and important diagnostic for numerous cancers.
Oncor and Boehringer Mannheim have licensed the Company's TRAP assay and Dako has licensed the Company's RNA detection technology on a non-exclusive basis for sale to the research use only market. Oncor commenced commercial sale of the TRAP-ezeTM kit in May 1996. The Company has also concluded collaborative agreements with Dianon and Ventana for additional technology development and clinical assessment. In each of its clinical diagnostic agreements, Geron has retained significant development and commercialization rights. The Company has also established research collaborations for the study of telomerase detection with The Cleveland Clinic, the University of Texas, San Antonio and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
Cell Senescence Modulation-Regulation of Cellular Aging
Geron seeks to develop therapeutics to modulate the biological processes leading to and regulating cell aging or senescence. Telomere shortening occurs as cells divide, which, Geron believes, eventually triggers the destructive genetic changes found in senescent cells. The Company is pursuing two distinct approaches to modulate cell senescence (1) extending cell lifespan by slowing telomere loss, thereby extending the period of normal cell replication and delaying the destructive onset of cell senescence and (2) applying proprietary genomics and screening techniques to target and modulate the destructive genetic changes that occur in senescent cells. Geron has entered into research collaborations with several research institutions to support its cell senescence modulation program, including Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Stanford University, Baylor College of Medicine, Aarhus University (Denmark), the University of Groningen (The Netherlands) and the University of Washington.
Cell Lifespan Extension
Geron believes that maintaining telomere length will extend cell lifespan by delaying the onset of cell senescence. The Company and its collaborators have demonstrated in vitro that telomere length and replicative senescence can be modulated with synthetic compounds. The Company's initial focus is on the transient activation of telomerase to maintain telomere length and postpone cell senescence without immortalizing an otherwise mortal cell.
As the first and fundamental step in this program, the Company is working to complete the cloning of telomerase and its regulators. Geron has already cloned, and has received an allowance for a United States patent application relating to, the RNA component of human telomerase. Geron believes that the cloning of the telomerase enzyme and its regulators may also provide the Company with next generation telomerase inhibitor screens, new reagents for telomerase detection and other markers useful in cancer diagnosis.
The initial therapeutic target of the cell lifespan extension effort is ex vivo applications such as T cell therapy and bone marrow transplantation to treat cancer or immune dysfunctions in the elderly. Ex vivo cell therapies typically involve the extraction of certain cells from a patient, expansion of the number of cells ex vivo and the reintroduction of the cells into the patient to strengthen the patient's immune system. Current cell therapies have several limitations, including, Geron believes, senescence of transplanted cells before they can benefit the patient.
Geron believes this is attributable in part to the premature senescence of cells during the expansion process or during growth in vivo. Geron's approach to extending cell lifespan could improve ex vivo therapy by allowing enhanced expansion of extracted cells and the reintroduction to the patient of cells with greater replicative capacity.
Genomics Of Aging
The goal of Geron's Genomics of Aging program is to treat age-related diseases and conditions by modulating the destructive pattern of gene expression that occurs in cells as they reach the end of their replicative capacity, or become senescent. Geron's approach to genomics is unique in that it focuses on the differences in gene expression between replicatively young and senescent cells.
Geron believes there is a significant advantage in defining differences in gene expression between young and senescent cells and then utilizing senescent cells in drug discovery screens. Most genomics companies use diseased tissue, which is complex in structure and varies from patient to patient, for research and drug discovery. By comparison, Geron believes that senescent cells are more representative of the disease process and provide a homogeneous and reproducible population of cells for both gene and drug discovery.
Genetic Analysis Techniques
Geron has developed proprietary genetic analysis techniques called "Enhanced Differential Display" and "Subtractive Differential Display". These technologies have enabled the Company to identify genes, including those which express products at low levels, that are differentially expressed by replicatively young versus senescent cells and mortal versus immortal cells. The Company is using these gene targets and their products to design automated screens to discover small molecule drugs that counteract the destructive effects caused by these genes and their gene products.
The Company's Genomics of Aging program is targeted at a wide range of age-related diseases and conditions, including skin aging, atherosclerosis, osteoporosis and Alzheimer's disease. Geron's initial focus is on skin aging and atherosclerosis.
Geron and its collaborators have established that when dermal fibroblasts age, or senesce, they undergo numerous changes in gene expression. Geron and its collaborators have discovered over 100 gene markers of genes that are differentially expressed in replicatively young versus senescent dermal fibroblasts. Some of these gene products appear to be destructive to the extracellular matrix.
The Company believes that these and other changes contribute to the characteristic age-related atrophy of skin. Reversing or offsetting the effects of such altered gene expression in senescent fibroblasts by targeted and cell-based drug discovery could provide an effective treatment for dermal atrophy in aging adults. The Company is establishing automated screens to discover small molecule modulators of gene expression in senescent cells.
Atherosclerotic plaques frequently form in blood vessels at areas of turbulent blood flow. Geron and its collaborators have shown that endothelial cells lining arteries with turbulence and cell turnover and thus cell division is high, have shorter telomeres than cells in regions with less blood turbulence and cell turnover. Further, some gene products differentially expressed in senescent endothelial cells have been shown to play a role in atherosclerosis. The Company believes that altering expression of the senescence-associated genes and their products in the vascular endothelium could provide a unique and effective therapy for atherosclerosis.
Primordial StemCell Therapies
Geron seeks to generate a broad array of cell types from PS cells for cellular transplantation. PS cells are germ line cells that are unique in that they are both immortal, consistent with their normal telomerase expression, and capable of differentiation into any and all types of cells and tissues in the body.
The Company believes that PS cells offer significant advantages over other stem cells, which can differentiate only into a limited array of cell types, an example being the hematopoietic stem cell, which is capable of becoming only blood cells. In addition, PS cells, unlike other stem cells, are immortal and can potentially be expanded and grown indefinitely. Finally, these cells may be used repeatedly for transplantation and they can be thoroughly characterized and shown to be free of viruses or other pathogens.
Initially, Geron plans to pursue transplantation applications using PS cells derived from non-human primates. These cells were recently derived for the first time at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and are currently licensed exclusively to Geron. These cells have been shown to differentiate into numerous cell types that could be useful clinically. There are many strong similarities between these primate tissues and human tissues that may prevent the rejection seen with transplantation from other species.
The Company is in the early stages of research directed towards differentiating PS cells for transplantation in circumstances in which the risk of histoincompatibility will be minimized. Specifically, the Company is focused on cardiomyocytes for the treatment of congestive heart failure and neurons for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
For further information about Geron contact:
David L. Greenwood, V.P., C.F.O.
Geron Corporation
200 Constitution Drive


text: Q: Is there a way to get summary of a conversation/ chat between two people? I have a transcript from a meeting where some questions were asked and they were answered. I am trying to get the summary of the whole conversation. I have tried NLTK, Spacy, Bert for the summarization of text but it does not give an accurate result. I am looking for a library which can treat text as conversation and summarize it accordingly.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Ford has teamed up with a jewelry company and charity Rebel Nell to produce pieces from graffiti found in Michigan Central Station.
For many, Michigan Central Station loomed over Corktown as a symbol of urban decay for 30 years, until Ford announced in June that it had purchased the landmark.
Others, however, saw the sprawling building as a playground.
"It really became an artists' playground," said Shawn Wilson, a community engagement manager with the Ford Fund. Dozens of Detroit street artists sneaked into the abandoned building over the years and left their personal mark.
As Ford begins work on plans to redevelop the building, that legacy will be preserved with a new line of jewelry from Rebel Nell, a local company that makes jewelry out of graffiti.
"This is a great way to pay tribute to all of the artists who have been in there and used it as a canvas for so many years," Amy Peterson, Rebel Nell co-founder and CEO, told the Free Press. It also will help immortalize the many stories of the station — including Peterson's own. Her first date with her now-husband took place at the closed station.
The origins of the project were organic, Wilson said. Rebel Nell had entered and won $25,000 in a competition hosted by the Ford Resource and Engagement Center seeking to lift up local businesses in Detroit, so Wilson and Peterson had a history by the time the train station was purchased.
"Once we had a chance to tour the train station and see what was in there — all the beautiful graffiti and beautiful murals — right away we had the thought, 'Can we connect with Rebel Nell?' " Wilson said.
This latest partnership involves another $25,000 grant for the small business, which has allowed them to hire two new employees, Peterson said.
Rebel Nell's employees aren't selected from jobs sites or cold calls, either. Instead, the company recruits from homeless shelters in Detroit. That is what it was founded as — a business that would provide transitional employment to disadvantaged women who have found themselves in tough circumstances.
Proceeds from the train station jewelry collection will go to COTS, a nonprofit agency that provides housing and other resources to homeless women. Rebel Nell and COTS have a close relationship.
The process of creating the jewelry is largely led by employees, Peterson said. "They have complete creative freedom to cut whatever color patterns or shapes speak to them. They're really the artists behind every single piece — it starts as a vision from the woman who's making it."
After the paint chips are selected, silver is cut to match the piece and a protective resin is applied. After several rounds of polishing and buffing, the pieces are ready for sale on Rebel Nell's website, rebelnell.com.
The Michigan Central Station Collection is also available on the company's website, with pieces retailing for $95 to $225 — although much of the limited run is already sold out. Each of the 300 pieces comes with a card detailing the story of the work and the train station.
Rebel Nell is always careful only to make pieces out of graffiti that has fallen off walls — they had a strict "no-peel" policy. What will happen to the art still on the walls is unclear.
Said Wilson: "I don't think that a determination (as to preserving the art) has been made but I know that there are definitely discussions around that."
Regardless, some portion of the station's art history will survive in Rebel Nell's collection. Peterson said she's grateful to be able to play a part in preserving a positive view of the station's legacy.
"For so many years, the station became a negative symbol of the city. It was becoming iconic for different reasons. To see (in the jewelry) that it has all this life is important," she said.
"That image of the train station as an example of urban ruin wasn't telling the complete story of Detroit."


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Government sector and private sector job after distance education from AMIE or SMU? What is the difference between AICTE and UGC?
Types of job we get after doing BCA?
Re: What is the difference between government sector & public sector?
compony owned, managed and controlled by d center, state or local government are termed as public sector enterprises or public enterprises these known as public sector undertaking.
These owned,managed by d government with view to maximise social welfare and uphold public interest.
Public enterprises consist of nationlised private sector enterprises such as Banks, LIC , GAIL, STC etc..


text:
USM SIGNS MOU IN UAE, MAKING ITS PRESENCE FELT IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND EUROPE
USM PENANG, 15 December 2021 – Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) made its presence felt in the Middle East and Europe when it signed two memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with two universities in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) as part of its regional academic and research expansion plan.
The first MoU involved a collaboration with the European Global School University (EGS), to facilitate the setting up of a postgraduate centre in Istanbul, Turkey to run offshore postgraduate programmes in Besiktas and Istanbul, catering specifically for the Middle East and European market.
The second MoU was signed with the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), which focused on collaboration pertaining to student and staff exchanges, academic programmes, research, publications, training and workshops.
The academic syllabus shall be fully provided by USM.
These MoUs were among five MoUs that were signed between several Malaysian universities and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) today in various fields of cooperation involving higher education in both countries.
The Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) in a statement released today, said that the signing was witnessed by the Director-General of Higher Education, Professor Dato' Dr. Husaini Omar, at the Pavilion in Dubai, UAE, in conjunction with the EDUCATION WEEK EXPO 2020 DUBAI with the theme "Education for Sustainable Development".
Signing on behalf of USM were its Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic and International, Professor Dato' Gs. Dr. Narimah Samat and Director of Strategic Corporate Development, Muhamad Sabri Said.
Text: Tan Ewe Hoe/Photo: Tuan Haji Sabri Said


There's a lot that the new Borderlands: Game of the Year remaster gets right. Yes, there are clear and obvious upgrades over the original release, not least the provision for higher quality textures that ensure that the game holds up well on a modern 4K display. Then there are the enhanced options and quality of life improvements and the fact that PC owners of the original decade-old release get the new version for free - but just how good are the various console ports?
Without head-to-head comparisons, the initial impression when loading up the GOTY edition is that this is classic Borderlands just as you remember it - and it's fair to say that the game's cel-shaded style still manages to hold up today. The key visual upgrade is indeed to texture quality, with much more detail - and this may account for a 19GB download size on PC up against the original's 12GB. Lighting and colour grading also seems significantly punchier too up against the older version.
While the objective is to deliver a presentation fit for 4K displays, the same upgrades are present and correct across all versions of the game, with both base and enhanced machines delivering the same core art. Interestingly though, while HDR is supported, it is restricted to consoles only - the PC version is left behind in this area.
While there are variations elsewhere between the consoles, the good news is that gameplay tweaks are consistent across the board. These changes are small but significant, starting with the inclusion of a revised mini-map and inventory system that's much easier to handle, and similar in nature to that featured in Borderlands 2. Characters also collect health and ammo automatically now, while the option to tweak field of view also proves welcome. Also impressive is a bump to local split-screen play from two players to four, though online-enabled accounts are required for each participant, which is a bit of a pain.
First impressions suggest that a decent level of thought and effort has gone into this remaster, but there are some concerns about the quality of the console conversions, particularly in terms of GPU utilisation. Borderlands always ran well on PC and bearing in mind that we're looking at a decade-old title here playing out on much more advanced hardware, performance is less impressive than expected.
A video breakdown detailing how Borderlands GOTY compares across all versions.
On the plus side, 60 frames per second is the target on all systems - but In order to keep frame-rates relatively consistent, dynamic resolution is in place on all consoles. That means we're looking at a range between 1536x864 to full 1080p on the base PlayStation 4 (albeit with few dips below the target) which drops to a noticeably more variable 1440x810 to 1080p on the standard Xbox One. Meanwhile, the enhanced consoles also vary, with a 1440p to 1800p resolution window on PS4 Pro, widening out to 1440p to 2160p on Xbox One X.
Visual differences between the four console builds are minimal. Each receives the same texture pack, though the quality of anisotropic texture filtering improves significantly on the enhanced machines - though this could be down to the increased sampling delivered by a higher native resolution. Shadow clarity also gets a small upgrade on the enhanced consoles, presenting slightly crisper edges.
Bearing in mind that this game is almost a decade old now, it's a little disappointing to see that even though DRS is in place, Borderlands GOTY still has some performance problems. All four console releases target 60 frames per second - but if the current scene can't render in time, v-sync is temporarily disabled, resulting in tearing travelling across the entire screen. It keeps latency low, but it's somewhat baffling to see Xbox One X's six teraflop GPU unable to hold a consistent level of performance and likewise with the other consoles and their lower resolution targets. Pro and X stick to 60fps best, but even here, episodes between 50-60fps are possible. The performance window expands out a touch on the vanilla consoles, seeming to 45-60fps. The base PS4 is fairly solid overall, but it is still prone to some drops and tearing, while the base Xbox One is less consistent overall than any of the other versions.
Performance issues apart, Borderlands GOTY does the job in delivering a decent enough remaster for the current-gen systems but revised textures apart, it's actually the quality of life tweaks that make the most impact here for the solo player. That said, boosting split-screen functionality from two to four players is a pleasant addition - it halves the frame-rate target from 60fps to 30fps, and there are still performance drops even then, but it does add somethng new to the overall experience. It's an improvement, but not quite everything you want it to be - something that sums up the console versions of Borderlands GOTY quite succinctly.
"This is a pretty significant issue!"


Ebay Report Section Poll 1.
Regarding the Ebay Report Section,I and some Members believe that few Guidelines are necessary.As I have talked to Ralph, I have opened a Poll to know what others Members are thinking.In case,any Members believe,I forget any Issues about the Ebay Report Poll thanks to let me know.
For Technical reasons,I have to create different Polls.
Last edited by dragsamou on Fri Jan 20, 2006 4:44 pm, edited 2 times in total.
I think that members who have posted here for a period of time should have this "right". The reason is that new members may be inclined to spam. Restricting it onlt to active members may not work either. For example, members like sylvanstu have not posted here in eons, but should an auction of his come up, he should be able to post. I don't think the number should be 50 or 100 though. Something like 20 posts should be enough. This way newer members, or members who read more than post can still post their auctions to the community.
mintcollector wrote: I think that members who have posted here for a period of time should have this "right". The reason is that new members may be inclined to spam. Restricting it onlt to active members may not work either. For example, members like sylvanstu have not posted here in eons, but should an auction of his come up, he should be able to post. I don't think the number should be 50 or 100 though. Something like 20 posts should be enough. This way newer members, or members who read more than post can still post their auctions to the community.
I have adjusted to 20 Posts and Old Members,and I agree with your comments.
Just be careful with your minimum number of posts. This may eventually eliminate older members from ever posting in the eBay section.
As the various forums get cleaned up, and many older posts get removed, most or all of us have had our post count reduced. I have watched mine decrease by 50 in the past month. We might eventually find that long-term members who are primarily sellers (like GamingJim) are unable to post in the eBay section. Because most of their posts are sale offers of items we actually WANT to be aware of, and because these are the kinds of posts that are being removed, their counters may approach zero.
I alerted Ralph about the counters some time ago, but neither of us were worried about potential implications. Here we possibly have one.
hammr7 wrote: Just be careful with your minimum number of posts. This may eventually eliminate older members from ever posting in the eBay section.
Flaminio,Sylvanstu,etc...are not concerned at all.Point is mainly to know if we can tolerate Member coming One time to this Forum to advertize anything.683 Members how many are active?The Cleaning of the Members is scheduled and Only Ralph will take care of it.
i am for making the forum open to all members and dealing with problem members as the need arises. i will always be against restricting privledges to new members as i do not want to scare potentially valuable members away because some new members abuse the forum.
I think that as long as there's some standard of what types of auctions should be posted in the forum, new members' posts would be alright. Perhaps allow older members a bit more latitude in what THEY can post, though.


Elijah sat between Ben and Jonathan in the waiting area outside the principal's office. Mr. Jackson was in his office on a conference call and would see them as soon as he was finished. His booming voice matched his large stature and could be heard through the heavy wooden door. They sat silently waiting. Elijah stared through the wire-reinforced glass into the hallway as students began to change classes.
The day had been going so well, he thought to himself. Funny how quickly things can change. Mrs. Simmons, the administration office secretary, had seemed surprised to see them come in. She told them to take a seat while she called into Mr. Jackson's office. She had a voice that everyone in the school knew from hearing her make occasional announcements, but few ever actually got to talk to her directly. Elijah had gone most of the school year without stepping foot in this room, now this was his second time in less than a week.
"Oh great!" Elijah groaned, "Just when things couldn't get worse." Passing by the window were Mark and Meatplow. They had almost made it completely across when Meatplow noticed them. He pulled Mark back and said something to him that Elijah couldn't make out. Mark said something in return and Meatplow sped off, Mark right behind him.
The door to the principal's office opened abruptly, shaking the three boys from their thoughts, and Mr. Jackson asked them to enter. His office was fairly void of furniture, outside of the desk and several chairs. The walls were lined with framed degrees and several trophies sitting on a shelf. Elijah didn't need to see the small golden figures striking the Heisman pose to know the trophies were for football. Mr. Jackson was clearly built for one sport and one position, football lineman.
Elijah had thought several times about going out for the football team at the beginning of the year. His only reason was that he knew he would sit the bench, but being on the team and wearing the jersey meant girls might actually notice him. There was never any real intent, so he never went to a try-out. The thought of spending all that time around Mark and his cronies had never appealed to him before the vision either. Most of the players were probably good enough guys, but getting bossed around by Mr. 'Captain of the team' Roche and his friends made Elijah believe that there had to be better ways to meet girls.
Mr. Jackson sat down on the big maroon chair behind his desk and rolled it forward. He moved the phone from off his desk calendar and shuffled a few papers. He motioned to the chairs in front of his desk and each boy took a seat.
"I just finished talking to Mr. Herkimer about why the three of you are here. Although I do not disagree with his decision to send you to my office, perhaps emotions got the best of everyone. Mr. Herkimer has agreed that you are to return to science class on your next scheduled period and, as evolution was already covered earlier this year, he will not cover it again. There is not to be, and I believe I have been clear on this in the past" Mr. Jackson said looking straight at Elijah, "any discussions about religion or the visions in the classrooms.
"I'm trying your house again now Elijah," the secretary said as they entered the waiting area again.
"You can come to my house," Jonathan suggested.
With that Ben let out another laugh and turned to leave.
"I'll message ya later. And thanks," Elijah called after him.
"You owe me one," Ben called back without turning around.
"Are you sure I can't convince you to come with me?" Jonathan asked again.
"That's what friends are for. A friend sharpens a friend," said Jonathan, sounding like his father more than ever.
"I wouldn't worry. 'Faithful are the wounds of a friend,' and Ben seems like a true friend. Maybe he'll start coming to prayer group? We could always use more friends like him. Well, I'd better get going. See ya bright and early tomorrow morning. Just try to be on time." And with those words, Jonathan went to meet his father.
As Jonathan left Elijah broke out his cell phone. After several rings Gram finally answered.
"What could possibly have gone wrong today?" her frustrated voice rang through the phone.
"Unless there's blood or broken bones, I'm at the grocery store and you'll have to wait for me to check out. With your sister over at Martha's house tonight I figured I'd make chow mien in a can. Becca doesn't like it so I figured it would be something different," Gram said.
"That's right. I forgot Becca was sleeping over at Marty's tonight," Elijah remembered.
Elijah gave a timid smile and handed the secretary his phone. She spoke briefly to Gram and handed it back to him. He clicked his phone shut and put it in his pocket. He wasn't sure why, but he really felt like he should catch up to Ben quickly.
The hallway was empty now. The rooms were full of students anxious to get the last period over. Ben would be almost to the back entrance by now. Elijah started to jog down the hall.
He couldn't help but notice that the hallway became increasingly less decorated the closer he got to the back of the school. Most likely because there wasn't as much traffic down here. The students called it the catacombs. There were fewer classrooms at the rear of the school, mainly larger rooms for things like Woodshop and Music. There were also several rooms for maintenance and janitorial equipment.
It took several seconds for Elijah's eyes to adjust to the sunlight as he exited the back of the school. There was no trace of Ben on the trail that led passed the soccer field and into the trees that separated the school grounds and the houses that bordered it. "He couldn't have made it that far already," he thought.
The sound of a car pulling away from the school caught Elijah's attention. He turned to see the back of Ben's mom's car driving up the side street adjacent to the school. Apparently, Ben was not going straight home. As the "MY CHILD IS AN HONOR STUDENT AT STANDING STONE ELEMENTARY" bumper sticker quickly faded over the hill, he sighed and walked back inside. He laughed to himself as he reflected on the bumper sticker. Clearly it was for Ben's little sister, both for age and grades.
It was bad enough trying to adjust to the outside sunlight, but reentering the dimly lit building was worse. Best to follow the sounds from the wood shop down the hall, Elijah figured. He slowed his pace and tried to think of a good place to hide out. There was still a good 20 minutes of class left and he didn't feel like waiting on display in the principal's waiting room any longer than he had to.
Suddenly, Elijah heard footsteps right outside the door. Not wanting to look like he was hiding out he stepped over to the mirror again, turned on the faucet, and pretended to wash his hands. The footsteps paused just inside the door. As the creaking door came to a halt, Elijah realized that the footsteps had continued to stay still. He glanced up at the reflection in the mirror. Staring back at him was John Mark Roche.
As Elijah's brain processed who it was staring back at him it quickly started altering the rest of his body. Chemicals began being released to prepare his body for a flight or fight reaction. His face flushed and his stomach felt like it was being tied into knots.
Then his brain started flashing through recent memories of Mark. His making fun of him when he tripped getting on the bus, mocking him on the wall outside of school, and his T.V. interview. It all culminated up to their run-in before school the day before.
Elijah had had enough and was ready to let Mark know just how he felt. "Tell him off!" his brain challenged him. "He's got it coming! No holding back!" Whipping around from the mirror they stood face to face. Although he had no intentions of fighting, his brain unconsciously caused his hands to clench into fists. This was it! He was finally going to tell Mark exactly what he thought of him. No one else was around to hear.


text:
Thomas Heatherwick reveals Zeitz MOCAA art galleries carved out of Cape Town grain silo
Amy Frearson | 15 September 2017 30 comments
Thomas Heatherwick has created South Africa's biggest art museum – by hollowing out the inside of a historic grain silo building.
Described by the British designer as "the world's tubiest building", the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, or Zeitz MOCAA, is set to become the world's most important exhibition space for African art.
It is located inside a grain silo built on Cape Town's waterfront in the 1920s, which was once the city's tallest building. Heatherwick's team have carved huge sections out of the building's tubular interior to create a complex network of 80 gallery spaces.
"It became like archaeology, like excavating out gallery spaces, but not wanting to obliterate the tubularity completely," Heatherwick told Dezeen.
"We realised we needed to do something that your eye couldn't instantly predict," he explained. "Our role was destructing rather than constructing, but trying to destruct with a confidence and an energy, and not treating the building as a shrine."
The museum is one of several facilities that Heatherwick Studio is creating within the grain silo building, which forms part of the V&A Waterfront, a harbour-side complex filled with bars and restaurants. The development also includes a hotel, which is already open.
However creating Zeitz MOCAA was by far the most complex part of the renovation. The museum centres around a huge atrium, based on the shape of a single grain that was scaled up to span the full height of the 27-metre-high structure.
Heatherwick describes the space as being "like a vaulted cathedral".
"We were interested in how we could give a heart to the building," he said. "The curator was quite clear that the tubes were pretty rubbish for showing art in, so [the challenge] was how we could retain the spirit of this tubularity but also give functionality, to create an A-grade gallery space."
In the places where tubes were cut back, the edges were polished to create a visible contrast between the rough aggregate of the old concrete. Laminated glass was also added to give a mirrored finish, and features a fritted pattern designed by the late African artist El Loko.
This atrium provides access to all of the exhibition spaces, which total 6,000 square metres.
Externally, the building features bulging windows – formed of faceted glass panels. Positioned within the existing concrete frame, these draw light down into the atrium, while also offering a kaleidoscopic visual effect.
"They act slightly like mirror balls, " said Heatherwick. "You look up at them, they're reflecting back at you, but the side part reflects Table Mountain, the other side part reflects Robben Island and the top part reflects the clouds in the sky."
Heatherwick ranked at number 23 on the inaugural Dezeen Hot List. Although he trained as a designer, he has worked on a number of architectural projects, including a Singapore university building and a visitor centre for British gin brand Bombay Sapphire.
He has had a run of bad luck recently, with the cancellation of both his Garden Bridge for London and his Pier 55 park for New York. But he has more projects in the works, including a tree-covered development in Shanghai and a honeycomb-like structure for New York.
Thomas Heatherwick saddened after plans for New York "treasure island" are scrapped
Photography is by Iwan Baan.
Dezeen Awards 2018 shortlist
Fourth floor plan
Fifth floor plan
Sixth floor plan
Sculpture garden floor plan
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November 19, 2015 Celebrities, Out and About, Society, Statesman, Uncategorized.
Once a private garden, Mayfield Park is part of What's Out There Weekend series of tours.
Celeste and Adrian Quesada at Mission Capital's Party for Good.
CHARITY: Mission Capital, formerly Greenlights, steps up. The group that added social venturing to its counseling for nonprofits is now playing in the big time. It raised something like $200,000 during a packed Party for Good at the Hyatt Regency Austin. Meanwhile, captains of charity gave out impressive (heavy) awards to various leaders — even the finalists were top shelf. The Nonprofit Executive Award of the Year went to Karen LaShelle of Creative Action, Excellence in Impact to Foundation Communities, Excellence in Innovation to Sustainable Food Center and Excellence in Collaboration to Children in Nature Collaborative of Austin. The special Libby Malone Community Leader of the Year honors were conferred on Jeff and Deanna Serra. If you don't know about these people and groups, you should. They are changing your city for the better.
Myrta Hodge (left) helps her mother-in-law, Mary Hodge, prepare a pre-Thanksgiving meal at Mary's home in Salado on Oct. 22. Mary Hodge, 89, spent months compiling seven generations of family recipes.


Climate change could alter so many weather and environmental elements that entrepreneurs are seeking to cut out weather altogether. By fusing together agriculture and technology, indoor farming start-ups are striving to create weather-independent environments and to improve the human health condition.
According to studies conducted by Exeter University, plant-rich environments providing clean air can boost creativity and productivity, improve your mood, reduce stress, and energize your body.
therapy device to improve air quality, light biology, and plant growth.
The EcoQube air is the best solution for indoor gardening because it provides the perfect environment for plants to grow.
It uses basil to filter water and incorporates hydroponics, which produces high yielding, abundant plants. The greenhouse requires minimal maintenance, and automatically begins working once it's plugged in.
ADI Ventures is founded by UC San Diego students and aquarium geeks who met in high school. They instantly became intrigued by planted aquatic ecosystems and have spent the last 8 years learning about them and building them.
An inspiration for creating this product came from the present challenges that humanity is facing of food and water shortage. So they decided to use the knowledge of building aquatic ecosystems to introduce the concept of aquaponics and the beauty of a sustainable ecosystem to as many people as possible in the world.
The EcoQube Air is sized as appx. 7" x 7" x 16", works hydroponically, meaning plants will grow soilessly, in a plant medium with water pumped through it. Hydroponics is a method of agriculture that grows plants without the use of soil. Water infused with fertilizer is introduced to the system where it is absorbed by the plant medium and subsequently the roots.
It requires water only once a month. All of the water in the system is in a closed cycle, so the water will be lost at a very slow rate. The EcoQube Air comes installed with a Drain Spout for easy water changes. Simply pour new, fresh water into the water basin and increasing water pressure will push older water lower in the basin out through the spout.
You can use the EcoQube Air to influence your own biological clock with the phone app. This helps you wake up feeling refreshed, alleviates insomnia, helps overcome jet lag, improves productivity, and helps prevent seasonal depression. Use the phone app to pre-program specific light schedules, change colors, adjust weather functions, or control your light from across the room.
Regarding the power requirement, it's a energy conservative product, as only power used is in the energy efficient LEDs, air intake fans, and the small water pump. In the UV / Fogger model, a small amount of extra power will be used for those two functions.
Join their movement to educate everyone about hydroponics and aquaponics, promote sustainability, and transform our living spaces. Let's bring nature back into our lives and blur the lines between the outdoors and indoors.
Presently, EcoQube Air crowd funding campaign is live at Kickstarter and original goal of US $ 25,000 has been exceeded more than ten times!
The campaign offers pre-order discounts and other backer incentives. Funds from the campaign will be used to complete manufacturing and commercialization of the EcoQube Air that is slated to be on the market January 2017.


When planning for the potential cost of long-term care, you've probably considered long-term care insurance. But premiums can be expensive and if you do buy the coverage, you probably hope you never have to use it. The prospect of paying costly premiums for long-term care insurance that you might never use might discourage you. Enter the long-term care annuity. WHAT IS IT?
This hybrid product, offered by insurance companies, is a non-qualified annuity that provides long-term care benefits (it can't be used with IRAs or employer-sponsored qualified retirement plans). These policies allow you to use the annuity proceeds for long-term care, and if you don't use the long-term care benefit, you still have typical annuity options. For instance, you can convert the annuity to a stream of income payments (annuitization), redeem the annuity at its maturity (e.g., cash in the annuity), or, at your death, you can pass the remaining balance of your annuity to your named beneficiaries. While policy provisions may differ from company to company, generally you put money into the annuity, usually in a lump sum. You may also exchange another annuity or cash value life insurance for a long-term care annuity via a Section 1035 exchange. The annuity typically pays a fixed rate of interest each year. In addition, the annuity provides a long-term care benefit amount, usually equal to two or three times your annuity cash value, subject to a maximum benefit period, which is the maximum length of time that you may receive long-term care benefit payments from the annuity. Long-term care annuity benefits are usually paid monthly.
THE PROSPECT OF PAYING COSTLY PREMIUMS FOR LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE THAT YOU MIGHT NEVER USE MIGHT DISCOURAGE YOU. CONSIDER A LONG-TERM CARE ANNUITY.


text:
Welcome Moonlit Tavern - Boston » Shifters » Jason
WARNING: This information should be considered OOC Knowledge unless one has the IC means to access it.
Jason portrayed by
Name: Jason Wyatt McKenzy Aliases: Jason
Status: Active Race: Shapeshifter, Leopard (Black)
Gender: Male Origin: American
Birthdate: August 7th, 1994 Age: 16
Height: 5'10" Build: Skinny
Eyes: Blue Hair: Brown
Short Desc: Thin dark blond teenager
Parents: Dead Siblings: Dead
Spouse: Not yet Children: Unlikely
Jason's life was not atypical. He grew up in a small, all American town that's livelihood came from the Ford factory there. His father worked there, and he anticipated that he would to after graduation. Well, that was until the company started making cut backs and the factory shut down. That was when his father started drinking more and more, he had always had a bit of a problem with it. The thing about it was that when Gerald, "Jerry" McKenzy started drinking, he got mean. Most of the time, Jason would keep that meanness directed at him, to shield his mother and little sister, Michelle, from it.
Things really didn't help with the father and son animosity when Jason managed to get a job at the local Wal-mart and was the bread-winner of the family. It only added salt to the wound of Jerry's inability to provide for his family. On one particular night, Jerry and Jason got into it worse than they had ever before. The police were called by the neighbors and had to come break up the fight. Being a small town, the sherriff had grown up with Jerry and was more than willing to not follow up the incident with more than just a report. When the police left, Jason left the house for a walk to cool his head. That walk took him someplace he had never even thought of.
Jason has no memory of the rest of the night. In fact, he doesn't remember the next several days that followed them either. He woke up several days later about a mile and a half from his home, covered in blood. When he got home, he found that the doors were covered in police crime scene tape. He crossed the tape line and entered his home to find it in ruins and large blood stains everywhere. Before he could do anything, the police burst in the house and arrested him for the brutal murder of his father, mother, and little sister. He was stunned and confused as they put him in the squad car to drive him to the police station.
He doesn't remember what happened next. He doesn't remember the fact that one of the state police officers turned and grinned at him cruelly through the steel mesh and willed him to shift. Nor does he remember him reaching over and breaking the neck of the other officer in the car, causing the car to go off the road and crash. Nor does he remember the state trooper ripping the door off its hinges and ordering him to run, because the fun was just now starting.
For three months, Jason has been on a constant move, never letting himself stop for very long, because everytime he does someone dies, and he has no memory of what he was doing at the time of the deaths. Eventually he ended up in Boston, where he was found by a were-leopard named Gabriel, who abducted him off of the street and took him outside of town into the woods, to convince him that he too was a were-leopard. When Gabriel found Jason, the one who attacked Jason, the one who murdered Jason's family, the one who made it look like he escaped the custody of the police, the one who had been following behind Jason for three months leaving a trail of bodies behind him, was watching from a roof top, finally ready to close in on his prey once and for all.
Gabriel convinced Jason of what he was and what that meant. He took the bewildered boy to meet the Nimir-Raj of the local pard. Julian welcomed Jason, but left him in the care of Gabriel. Little did the two know that their fates, lives, and hearts were already so completely tied to one another. For weeks Jason stayed by Gabriel's side, learning everything he could about what it meant to be a shifter and a leopard, except when Gabriel was off hunting the rogue leopard that he sensed to be lurking in the area. During those times, Jason was left under the care and watchful eye of an old leopard named George.
George was a rough man to figure out, and it wouldn't be until some time later that Jason would ever know that the grumpy old man actually thought of the boy as a surrogate son. The boy was not aware how delicate everything really was. That is until the rogue started playing with him and the others, buy sending pictures of his initial infection and the massive amounts of trauma and torture that he had underwent. This spurred Gabriel and George's resolution to protect the boy.
But even the best of plans can have flaws, and a band of South African mercenaries managed to kidnap Jason and disappear with him. For weeks, Gabriel and the rest of the Pard were unable to find any sign of Jason or the rogue. It was like everything had just disappeared into thin air. Until the rogue had decided that enough time had past and sent a message of Jason's screams. During that time, the rogue tortured and starved him, forced him to kill, and to watch his family's murder over and over again on video. The Rogue hoped that he would either make the boy strong, strong enough to deserve to live or break him completely.
Eventually with the help of Nathaniel, the Master vampire in charge of Boston, the Pard was able to rescue Jason. Sadly, George died in the attempt. The old man had known that it was a possibility and had contacted Thomas Walters, a trusted friend of his, to draw up a will, leaving everything he owned, including the old hotel that many of the Pard lived in, to Jason and made Thomas promise to watch after Jason. Thomas owed George in ways that he could never repay and agreed.
Jason Wyatt McKenzy's Sheet
Logic: 0 Muscles: 0 Senses: 0
Creativity: 0 Fitness: 0 Observation: 0
Force of Will: 0 Reflexes: 0 Memory: 0
Abilities: N/A
Merits: N/A
Flaws: N/A
Powers: N/A
Size: 0 Defense: 0 Power: 0 Experience: 0/0
Initiative: 0 Speed: 0 Willpower: 0/0 Health: 0/0
activeleopardpardshapeshiftershifterwereleopard
page revision: 57, last edited: 09 Mar 2011 19:44
Neo Steam Wiki
May 2008 to February 2012
Principles of Biology II
Fundacja SCP
Polska Filia SCP


Work and play takes on a journey of abounding opportunities, networking and a whole lot of fun, this year at the Atlantic Canada Petroleum Show and Lobsterfest 2013.
Our booth this year was appropriately themed The ART of ENERGY, whereby we merged the creative arts with the technical resource sector creating a balance of science and art like never before. From elaborate chocolate sculptures, to local artist's contributions, to a painted body of a sustainable world we were getting the messages out there that every"body" has a part in our new energy sustainable world! With creativity and fun in mind….we had a blast. Find your pictures, copy and keep them and then share your great memories with friends and colleagues!


Holly bushes, botanically known as Ilex, are evergreen plants that come in different varieties. They are common in USDA zones 3 to 9. These plants grow under full sun and can take only a small amount of shade. They prefer moist, well-drained, slightly acidic and fertile soil. Hollies range in height from less than 1 foot to over 70 feet tall. They have dark, evergreen leaves, creamy-white flowers and berries, which are usually red.
Burning Bush (Winged euonymus), which grows in USDA zones 3 to 10, is a cold-hardy shrub that can grow as high as 20 feet tall and 15 feet wide. Compacta, the smaller kind, grows up to 8 feet high and up to 7 feet wide. This bush favors direct sunlight and hates extreme moisture.
Burning Bush has dark green leaves, spring through summer, which turn bright red in fall. The deep, dark red leaves almost glow with the red fall color. The orange and red fruit of the Burning Bush is ornamental. This deciduous bush withstands acidic or alkaline soils and a wide range of temperatures. Established Burning Bush shrubs can take some drought.
Burning Bush best complements Nellie Stevens, which is a kind of holly bush that grows near rocks or concrete walls. The beautiful combination can provide a colorful palette to any garden.
Balloon Flower (Platycodon grandiflorus) grows in average, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade and tolerates slightly acidic to alkaline soil in zones 3a to 9b. It typically grows up to 3 feet tall and features unique, puffy flower buds shaped like hot air balloons. Each flower opens into 3-inch diameter, single blue, upward-facing bell-shaped flowers with five pointed lobes. Its oval, dentate leaves measure up to 3 inches long. Balloon Flower mixes well with holly bushes and provides good color and long summer bloom to the border front or rock garden.
Angel Trumpets (Brugmansia x insignis) is a perennial plant hardy to USDA zones 3a to 11. They attract bees, butterflies and even birds, grow best under full sun to partial shade and can reach a maximum height of 20 feet. White to pale pink, smooth-textured blooms measure from 4 to 24 inches long, are fragrant and appear in early spring to early winter. Angel Trumpets prefer mildly acidic to mildly alkaline, moist soil. These plants complement holly bushes grown in night gardens. The perfumed blooms open up when darkness falls and remain until dawn. The intoxicating scents are similar to various scents such as musk, lemon, mint, lily, hyacinth, citrus, jasmine and gardenia. The fragrance is most noticeable on warm summer evenings.


A dedicated competitor, Cheyne has been competitively surfing for more than 32 years – longer than the age of a number of pro surfers. In the face of uniformity, Cheyne Horan held fast to his beliefs and, in the end, came out on top. Born in Sydney, the son of an Australian speed skating champion, Horan began surfing on a Coolite at Bondi Beach at age 10. He won the New South Wales Juniors title in 1974 and was the Australian schoolboys champion in 1976. That year, he captured the Coke Australian Open Skateboard Championship. The only surfer/skater to hold both titles and also in the same year.
Professional surfing's first tour, the IPS, launched the same year with 16-year-old Horan jumping aboard. In his debut at Sydney's Surfabout, he finished seventh. The teenaged speedster soon became the youngest member of the Bronzed Aussies — a team of professionally-minded competitors intent on gaining mainstream exposure for the sport. Horan finished runner-up to Wayne Bartholomew for the 1978 world title, winning the Waimea 5000 in Brazil and appearing set for the top, pushing Horan's record of runner-up finishes to four. During that stretch, he was the fastest surfer alive, refusing to relinquish single-fins to jump on the twin-fin or the thruster bandwagon. A staunch advocate of Geoff McCoy's needle-nosed, wide-tailed Lazor Zaps, he was at times unbeatable in small to medium surf.
He gained independence from the clone-like Bronzed Aussies in 1980 and pledged his life to vegetarianism and yoga. A radical surfer for his era, Horan won the inaugural Op Pro in 1982 with a crowd-pleasing backhand 360 in the final. His popularity culminated with a win in the 1983 Surfer Poll and a spot in a widely distributed Sunkist soda commercial. With Geoff McCoy and designer Ben Lexcen, Cheyne Horan developed a winged keel fin based on an America's Cup sailboat design. The Star Fin has been a great success for Cheyne and continues to sell well today. He produced a movie, Scream in Blue, chronicling his life and views in 1987.
At the start of 1990, he won the final event of the season, the Billabong Pro, and re-emerged in the Top 16 — this time on conventional equipment. The $50,000 win was his first in Hawaii. Before ending his world tour career in 1993, Horan accumulated 12 victories and seven top-five, year-end finishes. Six years after leaving the pro tour, Horan found a shot at redemption with the Quiksilver World Masters Championship in France. Never wavering in his dedication to fitness and competition, he out-dueled his old adversaries in perfect beach break barrels and claimed the under-40 world title. Emerging from the water, he proposed to his girlfriend Paulina, and they were married in May of 2000.
Over the years, Cheyne was seen as a pioneer by his peers and was inducted into the Surfing Hall of Fame in 1986. He has created many of the rules which are currently used on the ASP Tour. He was voted best surfer in the world by his peers on numerous occasions and has created one of the major moves in pro surfing the "Floater". Helping design the safest learn to surf surfboard on the market, which is still used today by most schools and clinics. Some designs, however, are exclusive to our school; for example, boards that will work for all sizes and abilities. This year making a dynamic breakthrough with helping to develop the radio receiver helmet that can be worn in the water. Surfers Paradise Board riders club which he started and today organises competitions, training, management and sponsorship, as a team five Australian titles have been won in a period of seven years. Developing a new learn to surf DVD that all surf shops agree is the best learn to surf instructional film on the market.
Over 90% of surf schools now in Australia and the world currently use this as their system or methods of teaching beginners, this system was developed to assist beginners the basics of surfing and to understand the rules of surfing. Cheyne has coached numerous Australian and World Champions during his time as a professional instructor and always maintained his composure whilst competing on the World Tour. Many more students now work in the surf industry with the major surf brands in Australia and overseas due to his influence.


text:
Manners Befitting Pilgrims
Under category : All about Hajj; Pilgrimage to Makkah
elaborating on acts of worship, many people tend to interpret the juristic aspect of these acts as being dissociated from the ritual and spiritual aspect. as a result, their acts of worship appear as if they were spiritless practices. hence, they seem to belong more to habitual movements than to worshipful acts. this is despite the fact that the acts of worship constitute performances ordained by almighty allah as a means whereby the servants can draw closer to their lord.
besides, every act of worship, when performed, must fulfill an aspect of people's servitude to their lord, with the understanding that worship is devoted by the worshipper to the worshipped: allah. accordingly, hajj is an obligation that represents an act of worship whose rituals must be rightly observed by muslims, who, on their part, must couple the performance of it with good manners.
worship and good manners
it is worth noting that in the noble qur'an almighty allah associates the acts of worship with the ethics and manners assumed by those who perform them. he, for instance, links the obligation of hajj to good manners and ethics. speaking about hajj, almighty allah says,
(that [is the command], and [for] whoever respects the sacred ordinances of allah, it is better for him with his lord. and the cattle are made lawful for you, except that which is recited to you; therefore, avoid the uncleanness of the idols and avoid false words.) (al-hajj 22:30)
so, almighty allah has forbidden the worship of idols and the utterance of false statements, and has linked both forbidden acts together.
other prohibitions are also stressed in the following verse:
[the hajj is [performed in] the well-known months, so [for] whoever determines the performance of the hajj therein, there shall be no obscenity, nor wickedness, nor wrangling in the hajj.] (al-baqarah 2:197)
moreover, prophet muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said,
"cursing a muslim is a sin, and killing him is [tantamount to] disbelief." (al-bukhari and muslim)
thus, almighty allah commands the pilgrims to avoid sexual intercourse, foreplay, and erotic talk with their spouses, as well as cursing, lewdness, and unjust disputes. this is meant to purify the believers and protect them from any stains that could taint their hearts, through polytheism, or their tongues, through cursing and wrangling. these sins have a negative impact on the heart. after prohibiting these sinful acts, almighty allah says in the same verse,
[and whatever good you do, [be sure] allah knows it. and take a provision [with you for the journey], but the best provision is piety, so fear me, o men of understanding.] (al-baqarah 2:197)
hence, a believer's heart is purified when her or she avoids such evils. as a result, his or her piety increases, and this is the best provision to be taken.
some exegetes of the noble qur'an hold that the phrase (nor wrangling in the hajj) refers to contention, for it is impermissible to stoop to contention in the places where hajj is performed. other exegetes take it to indicate argument. still, a third group interprets it as meaning anger. however, it could indicate all forms of evil interaction with others.
it becomes clear from the foregoing argument that hajj involves good treatment of others as one of its desired outcomes: a muslim who is careful to observe good manners during the performance of hajj will most probably adhere to them after the fulfillment of this obligation. indeed, one of the sweetest fruits of hajj is good manners.
the prophet during hajj
prophet muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) used to teach his companions good manners during hajj, just as he would teach them legal rulings and jurisprudence. it is reported that asmaa' bint abu bakr said,
we went for hajj with the prophet (peace and blessing be upon him), and when we reached a place called `arj, the prophet stopped, and so did we. `a'ishah sat by the prophet, and i sat next to abu bakr. the victuals were with a servant of abu bakr, and he sat down waiting for his servant. afterward, the servant came walking on foot, and had no camel with him. when abu bakr asked him about his camel, the servant replied, "i lost it yesterday." at this, abu bakr got angry and said to him, "you had only one camel [to look after] and you lost it?" and he beat him. thereupon, the prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) smiled and said, "look at this muhrim [pilgrim in a state of consecration] and what he is doing!"
(abu dawud)
as clearly indicated in this hadith, the prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) disliked beating the servants, especially during hajj, for pilgrims are required to assimilate the spirit and atmosphere of this noble obligation and to refrain from all acts that could undermine their piety and good character. in doing so, they will surely advance to a higher degree.
in light of the prophetic instruction given in the above hadith, it is necessary to shed light here on some misbehaviors assumed by pilgrims during hajj.
jostling during tawaf
during tawaf (circumambulation of the ka`bah), roughly shoving women and aged people, which may result in their falling down, is among the misbehaviors committed by some pilgrims as they seek to get closer to the ka`bah and hold on to its curtains. there is indeed nothing wrong with getting close to the ka`bah or holding on to its curtains; it stimulates the feelings of affection and yearning and reveals one's devotion and dedication to almighty allah in his sacred house.
however, such eager desire to attain such closeness and to grapple the curtains of the ka`bah should not come at the expense of the safety of people. getting closer to the ka`bah and grappling its curtains is a commendable act, whereas harming people is religiously prohibited, not to mention that it suppresses the spirit of tawaf as a ritual. avoiding jostling will allow the pilgrims to heartily and spiritually taste the ritual of tawaf and feel its fruits in their hearts.
hustling to kiss the black stone
among the misbehaviors that are manifest during tawaf is people's insistence to reach the black stone and kiss it, instead of only touching or pointing to it. in their attempt to do so, some people pass out because of the rough shoving. i saw with my own eyes a person clutching the black stone and kissing it roughly for a long time. being youthful myself, i managed to get near to him, and i addressed him, saying, "my dear brother, you have already kissed the stone, so leave it so that other people may do the same." he loudly retorted, "go away! i now care about none but myself." thus, i forsook the attempt to kiss the stone and went on to circumambulate the house, content with merely pointing to the stone, as this is sufficient and fulfils the obligation, according to jurists. one can observe the ritual of kissing the stone at any convenient time, such as the time before or after dawn.
jostling while throwing the pebbles
another misbehavior that people persistently commit is the convulsive throwing of pebbles as if they were actually throwing the pebbles at satan. throwing the pebbles is nothing but a symbolic ritual of subjugating the devil. yet, such subjugation does not occur through convulsion or violent jostling, which can at a moment cause the death of some people. hence, we can resort to the juristic opinion that it is permissible for pilgrims — especially women and children — to depute other people to throw the pebbles on their behalf. besides, the time appointed for throwing the pebbles can be extended, contrary to the opinion of the majority of scholars, who hold that throwing the pebbles in the three days is to be performed after az-zawal (noon).
however, the hanafi scholars — along with some other contemporary scholars like al-ghazali, al-qaradawi, ibn jibrin, and others — deem it permissible to throw the pebbles before az-zawal, so as to make things easy for people.
standing on `arafah
among the common practices that clearly contradict the morals of islam is what some pilgrims do while standing on `arafah, like smoking different kinds of tobacco and frequently jesting with others using the hands. given that "hajj is `arafah," as prophet muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, pilgrims standing on `arafah should engage in many good deeds, such as remembering allah and imploring and entreating him; they should eschew all sinful acts.
a pilgrim should deal with others mercifully, kindly, caringly, and graciously. in doing so, he or she can hope that his or her hajj will be accepted by almighty allah, lord of all the worlds. in this way, the fruits of hajj can be truly reaped. the prophet is reported to have said, "whoever performs hajj without indulging in lewdness or abuse returns [from hajj] as free from sins as they were on the day they were born" (al-bukhari).
The Universal Lessons of Hajj
The Virtues of Dhul-Hijjah
A New Life After Hajj & `Umrah
Manifestations of Islamic Monotheism in Hajj - IV
Islamweb.net
The Physical Impact of Hajj
The Inner Dimensions of Hajj - I
Tips to Maximize Hajj Benefits
The Rewards of Hajj
The Forgotten Sunnan of Eid
Tips to Enhance Faith after Hajj
The Best Days of the Year
Understanding the Why of Hajj


I had this legitimate "ah hah" moment recently. We're afraid of kindness.
Why are we afraid of this? It's not because we don't have the thoughts. We've all stood next to someone in line and loved their shoes. We've all read a Facebook post of a very distant high school acquaintance and thought "oh my goodness, that vacation looks amazing!" We've all randomly thought of an old friend and thought we should reach out and say hi. But we don't do it. We don't pay the compliment. We don't post the comment. We don't make the call or send the text.
It's because at our core we're afraid of rejection. What if we compliment a stranger and they give us a weird look? What if we comment on that post and it gets ignored? What if we send that text and don't get a response? What if we look desperate/weird/pathetic/socially awkward?
I can't speak for you, but I can tell you those are all the thoughts that run through my head every time I proactively connect with a stranger or someone I don't know very well.
But now I want you to turn things around. How would you feel if a stranger in line at the coffee shop complimented you? How would you feel if you got a call/text/email out of nowhere from an old friend? How would you feel if you got a sweet comment on your Facebook or Instagram post from someone you barely know? Would you think they were pathetic or weird or awkward? I bet you wouldn't. In fact, I bet it would be one of the highlights of your day and you would think more highly of them in the process.
We're all starving for human connections today. Most people are rarely complimented or acknowledged in public by strangers. Many of us live in this bubble of staring-at-our-phones-don't-talk-to-strangers-or-you'll-seem-weird solitude even when we're surrounded by people.
As outgoing as I am, I'll find myself sometimes going days without connecting with people I don't already know. I'll shower my close circle with love, compliments and encouragement, but I'll ignore everyone else. I'm not okay with this. I want to be more connected to the world and humanity beyond my close circle and it starts with me.
For 2 weeks, I'm going to do my own "feel good" challenge and connect with 2-3 people per day who I don't know. A smile and a nod, a compliment, even asking a question (sitting at a bar waiting for friends, ask the person next to me what red wine they're drinking). This can be as simple as eye contact and a smile in the elevator. I'm going to keep notes (I use Google Keep app/site for notes) and reflect on the results. I've done this before and it's always a practice in magic and blowing my world wide open. I need it now more than ever.


It is suggested that the cabin air filter be replaced every 15,000 miles.
The glove box is held in place by tabs on both sides. Push inward on both sides of the box to allow the glove box to drop clear the tabs and drop downward slowly.
Push the air filter out of the plastic housing from the bottom and discard.